SOUTHERN PROVINCE

HUYE — Workers at the National University of Rwanda (NUR)’s  Centre for Public Health (CUSP) have expressed their dissatisfaction over the way the health centre is run.

The workers have called upon government to intervene. The health centre situated in Butare town, was created to operate  under the University’s School of Public Health before it was moved to Kigali.

According to workers, their problems started in 2006 when the then Rector of the University, Professor Chrysologue Karangwa announced that the university had no interest in the Centre and called upon the Ministry of Health to take up its management.

"The Rector told us that the university was not willing to continue paying our salaries. He said that the centre would be moved to the neighboring Kabutare Hospital but this was never to be,” said a nurse at the CUSP who preferred anonymity.

In a letter dated May 29 2006 written to the Minister of Health, a copy of which The New Times has seen, Prof. Karangwa indicated that the university had no mission to manage a centre offering primary health care services to the community.

"The CUSP is a health facility among the 12 in the Kabutare Hospital zone offering a minimum package of activities like all other Health Centres of the Ministry of Health.

The university does not have a mission to manage a centre offering primary services to the community,” the letter reads in part.

"We call upon you to integrate this centre in the Ministry of Health and to keep all its workers to ensure its continuity,” the letter continues.

Despite the desire by the University Administration to handover the administration to the Ministry however, it is now two years and the fate of the centre has never been decided.

The situation has led to uncertainty on the part of the workers who have no contracts and general poor service delivery to over 2000 patients who seek the health services monthly.

This has created a high labour turnover at the centre leading to shortage of staff. Over the last one year, 13 staff members have left citing different reasons.

There are six nurses, one laboratory attendant, one social worker and no medical Doctor.

"We have had to improvise. We carry out multiple tasks so as to keep the centre running,” said a nurse.

"We used to conduct home visits, counselling people living with HIV/AIDS and discordant couples, visits to pregnant women but all this is no longer possible because we are over stretched,” she added.

Different workers interviewed by The New Times expressed readiness to carry on with their work if only they could get more staff, be given job contracts and other benefits like performance based allowances given to other medical staff.

Despite the fact that the centre generates income, it does not have financial and administrative autonomy. Money generated at the Centre is deposited on the NUR’s account yet the university does not provide them with any aid apart from paying salaries.

CUSP receives patients mainly from over 10 secondary schools in the district, convents and those from the neighbouring districts of Nyaruguru, Gisagara and Nyamagabe.

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